1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to energy management and, more particularly, to a thermostat with a means of providing the user with the range of temperatures permitted when selecting a temperature set point.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional thermostat controls, both graphical and physical, do not present to the user the range of acceptable temperatures that the system allows in the environment. At its discretion, the system may actively manage the temperature within the range, or the system may allow the temperature to naturally fluctuate in the range without taking corrective action. In thermostat controlled heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in use today a similar range is sometimes called the “dead zone”. For example, that range may be a zone of plus and minus 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit around the desired temperature set point configured by the user. This dead zone allows the HVAC system to not operate when the temperature is within the range on the assumption that thermal mass will hold the temperature near the desired set point.
But there are other considerations besides thermal mass that may be used to adjust the range of acceptable environment temperature that the HVAC system will allow. The system may have other considerations such as environmental impact, expense, and comfort. When accounting for these additional considerations, the thermostatic control may have a wider range of temperatures which the user considers as acceptable, or it may cause the range to not be symmetric around the user-specified optimum set point.
With an advanced thermostat control/display, it is desirable that a system clearly show to the user the range of temperatures that the system allows (without corrective action) given user's optimum temperature set point and the settings of other factors to consider, such as environment, expense, or comfort. In addition, as the user adjusts these other factors, it would be advantageous to dynamically display the effect these changes have on the heating/cooling ranges by updating each range's size and location. This immediate feedback to the user of presenting the impact of their selections allows the user to make additional adjustments to the parameters based on their displayed effects.